Ah, the pressures of the Christmas gift list. What do you buy and why? I ask people occasionally for ideas about how they pick gifts or for suggestions on specific gifts (most recently my dental hygienist) and their answers are both instructive and funny.
For many, the process of determining the best gift and shopping for it often leaves them quite stressed. Add an additional burden of having to pay for the gifts or make them for the DIY folks.
Thankfully, there are two helpful ways to provide you assistance in your gift-giving. The Book of Proverbs provides you aid in choosing the best gifts for everyone on your Christmas list. Further, if you consider the character of God as He gives gifts, you also will be benefited in your gift-giving as well.
Before you skim the rest of the article looking for specific items to purchase, don’t be disappointed that there are no specific gifts mentioned. The idea is not to tell you what is a good or bad, right or wrong, perfect or imperfect gift. Instead, I will at least help get you on the path of wisdom as you seek to buy, make, or somehow provide the best gifts for those on your list — and we won’t even consider if the recipient has been good or bad this year (I often fail that one).
Today, we consider the character of God as He gives gifts and tomorrow the specific wisdom principles from Proverbs.
The Perfect Gift-Giver
Before we consider the perfect gift, it is important to consider the perfect gift-giver. There is no better example of the perfect gift-giver than God. Pastor James, Jesus’ half-brother and the pastor of the first church in Jerusalem, describes God’s kind of gift-giving for his congregants. He writes:
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights with whom is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17).
This passage says several things about God as a gift-giver.
First, the character of the gift-giver makes the gift what it is. God’s every gift is consistent with His character, and is an extension of who He is. James emphasizes this by pointing attention to the fact that God gives good and perfect gifts and that His character never changes. The light of God has no variations or shadows, which means that it is always consistent.
Second, every gift is given with the gift-receiver in mind. God, who does not sin (James 1:13), can only give good and perfect gifts, in other words, gifts that are always appropriate for the recipient. Consider what it means to be a perfect gift giver for a moment. Essentially, God provides gifts in the perfect timing, in the perfect amount, in the perfect manner, and to the appropriate person. Thus, every gift from God then is both for the good of the receiver, and ultimately for His glory as it reflects His character.
Finally, every gift from God is given with the proper motivation. As such, every gift provided to us from God is an expression of His love. Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate at Christmas, is the greatest example of the perfect gift from God. The gift of Jesus Christ to mankind providing for the forgiveness of sins demonstrates His love as selfless and sacrificial.
What about You?
So, the Christmas gift list begins with you. Do you see your gifts as representations of who you are and what you value as a person? Do you consistently choose gifts with the good of the gift-receiver in mind — a gift that is best for the receiver’s life situation? Do you consistently choose gifts with the glory of God in mind? What about your motivation for giving gifts? Are you motivated by love for the recipient and God or some other false motivation like fear of man, or opportunity for reputation-building, or hope of a gift in return, or craving the love of the gift-receiver, or some other variation of a less-than-pure heart? Certainly, we do not want to allow the pressure of our Christmas list to encourage us to miss what should be our primary concern — our own part in the gift-giving process before God and others.
Tomorrow — wisdom principles to help you choose your gifts.
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KevinCarson.com | Wisdom for Life in Christ Together
